Reference no: EM133870732
Assignment:
Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are the "bad" cholesterol. These carry cholesterol from your liver to other cells in your body-and therein lies the problem. LDL can carry too much cholesterol (more than is needed by the cells), and then cholesterol will build up in the blood.
1. A 25-year-old woman, pregnant in her second trimester, starts to experience chorea and bilateral ankle arthralgia but has no past history of rheumatic chorea. In the first hour, her erythrocyte sedimentation rate is 70. Could this be no more than chorea gravidarum?
2. Is valproate as equally effective as haloperidol in the treatment of chorea, in particular rheumatic chorea?
3. Does a lesion of Guillain-Mollaret's triangle in the brain stem cause a type of myoclonus other than symptomatic palatal myoclonus?
4. 1. In West's syndrome, after the fits have been suppressed, for how long should treatment with adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) continue?
2. Does complete suppression of resistant infantile myoclonic jerks by ACTH characterize West's syndrome?
5. Are anticholinergics the first line of treatment for primary torsion dystonia?
6. Can multiple sclerosis (MS) be associated with lack of vitamin D, lack of sunlight or low fish/cod-liver oil in the diet? By looking at the epidemiology (none at the equator; more outside 40° latitude, both north and south; less on top of Swiss mountains than in the Swiss valleys; more in fishing coastal towns and in Eskimos) this seems to be very important. Vitamin D modulates the immune system and active vitamin D given to rats with experimental MS (acute encephalomyelitis) lowers the monocyte count in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by 90% in 72 hours with return of power to their limbs. Japanese MS patients who ate plenty of fish were found to have vitamin-D-receptor pleomorphism. The staple grains and cereals (wheat, barley, oats) eaten in Scandinavian and northern European countries contain phytic acid, which blocks vitamin D absorption, and rice is the only cereal free of phytic acid. Are there any studies where low vitamin D levels in blood are associated with MS relapse?
7. What are the diagnostic criteria of 'definitive' multiple sclerosis (MS) - as taught to a medical student? We have found different information from different sources.
8. How reliable is a CT-brain scan with contrast in showing MS lesions as enhancing lesions in the presence of a contraindication to use MRI?
9. Is magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy of value in differentiating multiple sclerosis from cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarctions (CADASIL)?
10. Does hemiplegia due to multiple sclerosis present with hemiparesis rather than dense hemiplegia (which is more characteristic of a stroke)? Other than age, what are the clinical signs that would help differentiate between the two?